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TAKING ROOT Wanting to live in color and to be reminded ofher roots, designer Cheryl Luckett’s home is filled with pattern, color, casual elegance, and Southern tradition with a global twist
TAKING ROOT
DESIGNER CHERYL LUCKETT’S COTTAGE HOME IS A STUDY IN COLOR, PASSION, AND THE KIND OF INTIMATE DETAILS THAT MAKE A HOUSE A HOME.
A collection of vintage furniture pieces makes up the living room. A Wildwood table lamp sits in front of custom draperies done in Brunschwig & Fils fabric. A vintage chair upholstered in a leopard-print fabric brings a punch of modernity to the living room.
In the piano room, a framed African Kuba cloth hangs above the upholstered banquette from Luckett’s collection with Sylvester Alexander. OPPOSITE: At home with designer Cheryl Luckett, Luckett fills her home with color, pattern, and collected vintage pieces. 70 HOME DESIGN & DECOR CHARLOTTE | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020
Designer Cheryl Luckett, a Charlotte local by wayofSouth Mississippi, has created a name for herselfthat’s rooted in soulful design and punctuated bypattern and color. When she moved here thirteen years ago from Spartanburg, South Carolina, however, interior design was the last thingon her mind. Workingfor a Fortune 500 companyhad her on the road often, and in the little free time she had, she nested in her new home. Shabbychic was a trendyaesthetic at the time, and Luckett was all over it. Her home was so well put together that visitors suggested she should take on interior design professionally. Prettysoon, travelinggot old and the race exhausting. Luckett knew it was time to shift gears and wondered ifshe reallydid
have a talent for design. So she changed jobs and took some design classes. In her free time, she started a design blog, which ultimately led to interior design work. Three years later, Luckett had her own business. The rest, as theysay, is history.
Far from shabbychic, Luckett’s aesthetic has evolved professionallyand personally, but one thinghas been constant: her love oftextiles and her talent for mixingpatterns. “That’s what lights me up,” she says. “So that’s where I start. I go with mygut on fabric, and that usuallydrives the rest ofthe space. Just like I want myclients’ homes to represent them, at home, I want myspace to represent who I am—an African-American, Southern woman. So I can take this chintz and draw in traditionallySouthern pieces. I can take the African tapestryand bringin natural elements, like baskets.”
LEFT: In the breakfast room, Luckett used Revolution Performance Fabrics for the dining chairs and the Magnolia banquette from Belle by Cheryl Luckett for Sylvester Alexander. Lighting from Hudson Valley hangs overhead, while vibrant orange curtains in Robert Allen fabric bring in an unexpected color.
RIGHT: In the kitchen, blue-and-white wallcoverings by Milton & King coordinate joyfully with pops of yellow in accessories and barstools from Designmaster Furniture covered in Revolution Performance Fabrics. White pendant lights from Hudson Valley Lighting bring your eyes up, and upgraded appliances from GE’s Café Collection add a custom feel.
When it comes to her home, Luckett learned pride ofownership at an early age. “I grew up around my grandparents in southern Mississippi, and they took pride in their belongings,” Luckett recalls. “I must’ve watched my grandmother reupholster her sofa at least three times as a kid. We would spend hours in Penney’s picking out bedding; everything else, we would make—pillows, valances, curtains.” Luckett’s appreciation ofthe home, textiles, and design came from her family. And though she enjoys a casual feel, that pride in ownership alongside a joy ofentertaining has a special place in her heart. “I still like a tad offormality,” she says. “Not too much to be stuffy, but just enough to feel distinct.”
Looking around her home, it’s easy to see these things that make up Cheryl Luckett—color, patterns, casual elegance, Southern tradition with a global twist, and, ofcourse, tremendous pride in the designer she’s become. “I heard once that design is a muscle. The more you use it, the better it gets. I am a testament to that,” she says. “The more you refine your passion or talent, the more you’re willing to push the envelope. And it just keeps getting better.”
When the pandemic hit in the spring, Luckett sprang into action, forging a new path that could navigate her business through a crisis. She offered an online course for homeowners, a sort ofdesign 101. “One ofmy first classes was Secrets ofthe Home, and I asked people what they wanted their home to feel like,” Luckett explains. “You can dress your home up any number ofways, but ifyou know that you want it to feel energizing or cozy or fun, that sets up a frame ofreference when deciding on a design direction and color palette.”
For herself, Luckett wants to live in color. She wants to be reminded ofher roots. But her house, like many, is a constant work in progress. “I just finished redesigning my kitchen,” she says. “Right when I like it, I change course again, which I think is OK. I love working on my home.”
The new kitchen dons bright colors ofbold blue and happy yellow, with natural wood touches in oak cabinets and open shelving. Just adjacent, the breakfast nook adds a pop oforange with patterned curtains in Robert Allen fabric and includes the
LEFT: A cheerful yellow chest from Wildwood greets Luckett at the back door, backed by wallcoverings from Milton & King. Art from Rayhart depicting four women figures reminds Luckett of her family and brings her joy each time she passes by.
OPPOSITE: Luckett stands in her colorful office, contemplating fabrics and patterns—a cornerstone of her aesthetic. A hot-pink vintage desk chair radiates in the room, alongside a bench from Sylvester Alexander. Draperies from Ballard Designs pull in the pops of black and white from around the room.
Magnolia banquette from Luckett’s own collection: Belle by Cheryl Luckett for Sylvester Alexander. She launched her five-piece collection offurniture in 2018, one full ofher signature color and pattern, with traditional lines and modern twists. You can also find a second piece from her collection in the piano room, the Anderson banquette covered in Bombshell by Brentwood Textiles. “The five pieces in my collection represent five pillars ofmy life: faith, family, home, culture, and journey,” Luckett explains. She is also a brand ambassador for Revolution Fabrics, a company she stands behind thanks to their durability, quality, affordability, and sustainability. Plus, it’s a small family-owned company operated close by, in Kings Mountain. “I love using performance fabric. It’s fabric for life, especially on larger pieces. It’s on my banquette, dining chairs, and upholstered door in my kitchen, among other things.”
As most new rooms tend to be, the kitchen is her current favorite room in the home because, as she puts it, it feels like a bighugevery time she walks into it. “It’s so happy, and veryme. It functions well, it’s cozy, and it’s colorful,” she says. It also catalyzed the rest ofthe home and got the juices flowingon the next round ofchanges. But for now, she’s pleased with the mix she has in the rest ofthe rooms. “I recentlystarted to add more meaningful art. Right near the back door, I added a piece byRayhart. It’s a figurative piece—four women—they remind me ofmymom, mytwo sisters, and me, and I love it. On some level, I have been surprised at how happythat piece makes me.”
Luckett’s love oftraditional finds is amplified in the piano room, where a baby grand anchors the room beside her furniture collection’s Anderson banquette. Atraditional African Kuba cloth is framed and hung as a striking focal piece, while underfoot, a hide rug adds a pop ofmodernity. The ever-present bar cart is a familiar vintage piece waiting with a fresh cocktail, a perfect capsule of Cheryl Luckett as a person and as a designer.
“My guiding principle in designing for clients is to paint a portrait ofthe homeowner in their surroundings,” Luckett says. “So, for my own home, I hope I’ve done the same. I don’t need it to be a catalog. I don’t need it to look like Pinterest. I need it to look like me. Sometimes I think we worry so much about getting it right that we miss making it us.” u
—CHERYL LUCKETT
In the guest bedroom, vintage panel art hangs above a Wildwood Borneo chest painted in cheerful green. An ottoman from Ballard Designs in a leopard print pairs perfectly for a global feel. OPPOSITE: The pretty master bedroom boasts a custom headboard covered in Schumacher Pyne Hollyhock fabric with custom throw pillows that accent the Barbara Barry duvet.
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Photography by Mekenzie Loli.
